James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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Imaginative Realism

Dinotopia: The World Beneath

"A ravishing, action-packed adventure." —Smithsonian. Now with 32 extra behind-the-scenes pages. Signed by the author/illustrator

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara

160 pages, fully illustrated in color. Written and illustrated by James Gurney. Signed by the author

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Writing GurneyJourney takes dozens of hours each month. If you get as much out of this blog as you get from a cup of coffee or a nice meal out, please consider contributing to my citizen journalism in the visual arts.

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or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

Permissions

All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

There's so much to be learned from even these brief posts: The slight adjustments you made in going from reference to final - the amount of shoulder and arm in the final, for example.

Also, thanks for including the links to earlier posts (e.g. the one her on uses for refrigerator columns). Now that your blog has such a history and, as far as I know, isn't searchable, it's great to be pointed back to some of these older gems.

I had to have my wife take some photo reference of me for my latest painting too. I wasn't going to bother with it but I find it difficult to paint hands and fingers so they look natural. I thought of you at that moment and said it's what James would do. If I want this painting to be something special I should too. Thanks for all your great insight. It's helped me in so many ways.